First Blood (1)

Minji joined the applause as the last act of the show came to an end. There was a mixture of sadness and happiness in her eyes. She had seen an amazing show and she would never forget that night.

She got up from her seat and left the theater with slow steps. She was alone in the crowd, but she did not feel lonely. The magic of the show still surrounded her.

As she stepped into the dim light of the restaurant, the waiters bid her farewell. Minji said goodbye to them with a smile. The streets were quiet and still. Minji took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The stars were so bright and beautiful that for a moment she forgot all her troubles and sorrows.

She thought about how stupid Baek Yisoo was. He had missed such a beautiful, important performance. It was hard to find such an idiot anywhere.

"I guess I'll have to walk."

None of the carriages that filled the street were in front of her. These were special carriages for the distinguished visitors to the restaurant.

The distance was long, it would take her an hour to get home from the Golden Dawn Restaurant alone in the middle of the night. Yulin City is not very big, but it would take 5–6 hours to walk from one end to the other. Fortunately, her home was not that far.

Minji took the side streets and hoped to get home soon. These were the routes she always used. She knew almost all the shopkeepers and residents of the surrounding neighborhood since she was a child.

Since Yulin was one of the leading cities in Shaanxi, safety on the streets was a concern of the city lord. In addition, noble dynasties such as Baek, Han, and Yoon, who resided in Yulin, were also after malicious organizations, so no criminals other than simple street thugs dared to show themselves.

Minji, a servant of the Baek Clan, was proud of this. The Baek Clan was one of the most prominent noble families in all of Yulin City, and this guaranteed that she would become more influential in the future. When she became a senior servant, she would have her own team of servants and be able to stand on the same level as the young masters of all the noble families under the Baek Clan.

The future made Minji excited.

The only thing that worried her was the fact that Han Bora, whom she admired, would become her enemy in the future. The friction between the Han Clan and the Baek Clan was getting more intense every day. Especially recently, it reached its peak with the political marriage between Namgung and the Baek Clan. The Baek Clan's rise to power in the political arena meant that the balance between the poles in Yulin was destabilized. This was not in the Han Clan's favor in any way.

When Minji became a senior servant, she would become a mid-level official in the Baek Clan and stand on the same side as her mistress. Therefore, whenever she met Han Bora, she would have to humiliate her and never show her admiration.

This was the biggest reason why she didn't entertain the thought of being with an ordinary guard trainee like Baek Yisoo. In a very short time, she would be in a much higher position than Baek Yisoo. So she would have much better options in front of her.

Minji walked down the alley. There was no one there, but there was no fear in her heart. She moved quickly down the street, as she always did.

The moonlight barely illuminated the street, and the sound of footsteps echoed. For some reason, anxiety arose in her heart. She began to feel very disgusted. As if someone was watching her. It was a very bad feeling, so she hurriedly quickened her steps.

After a while, she started to hear footsteps behind her. Her eyes fluttered, and her heart began to pound.

Bang!

Suddenly she fell to the ground with a hard blow from behind. Her head spun and her eyes went black. A man appeared like a shadow in the darkness. His rough, dirty hands began to squeeze Minji's throat. Minji was stunned and unable to comprehend the situation.

What was going on?

Who was this man?

Why did he look so disgusting and dirty?

Did he want to kill her?

'I can't... breathe...'

Minji struggled for breath, panicked, trying to push his hands away. The man weighed almost a hundred and fifty kilos and was pot-bellied and well-molded. A petite woman like Minji couldn't even move, let alone manage to push his hands away. The difference in mass was too great.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The darkness began to swallow her as the pressure in her throat increased. Minji struggled and screamed as hard as she could, but to no avail.

This man was going to rape her, maybe even kill her!

The realization brought tears to Minji's eyes. Rape was one of the few things that could kill a woman in her lifetime.

Minji's face turned purple and the strength in her body began to fade. The man's stench, the force of his fingers, caused Minji's body to lose all strength.

She had given up everything when she heard a roar.

"Minji!"

The fat man on top of him fell over from the impact of the kick to his stomach. The kick was so strong that he couldn't get up.

"Are you okay?"

With the pressure lifted, Minji began to breathe with more pleasure than she had ever felt. She turned her head in relief.

"Yisoo..." she said in a pained voice. There was gratitude in the young woman's voice.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here..."

Baek Yisoo carefully picked her up and held her in his arms. Minji began to cry with relief. She couldn't hold it in any longer, she was so scared that she couldn't describe it.

"It's okay... It's okay."

He patted the back of the young woman, who was shaking like a rabbit, and looked up.

[Interest Level: 49/100]

Baek Yisoo sighed in distress and held Minji's cheeks, looking deep into her eyes. Seeing him beside her, Minji stopped crying.

"Ahem! I'll take you home."

Minji nodded softly. She was so scared that her pupils and hands kept trembling. She hugged Baek Yisoo tightly and he rubbed her little shoulder with his hand.

"You bastard!"

The two had just turned around when they heard a loud, harsh sound. With unexpected agility, the man on the ground jumped up and ran toward Baek Yisoo.

"Watch out!"

Minji reacted and warned Baek Yisoo, but it was too late.

Splash!

Blood bloomed like a flower. Part of the blade, which was almost 30 centimeters long, was stuck in Baek Yisoo's abdomen. Although the wound was not very deep, a lot of blood flowed out.

Baek Yisoo punched the man before falling to his knees. The man staggered from the punch and fell to the ground, then got up in fear and ran away.

"Yisoo!"

Minji collapsed next to Baek Yisoo with tears in her eyes.